It was Martin Johnson who asked: “What happens next?” even before England’s gallant defence of the Webb Ellis Cup finally ended in defeat by South Africa in Paris last Saturday. Many believe that the former England captain himself could be the answer, if the RFU can create the conditions in which to build on a second successive World Cup final appearance.

If the side led by Johnson and coached by Sir Clive Woodward could win four years ago in spite of the domestic structure, how much more has that been true of the side led by Phil Vickery? For all the gallantry of the players, this has been a year in which England have scarcely been able to look more than 24 hours ahead, never mind the kind of planning required to win international matches on a regular basis.

If there had been a greater degree of planning, Johnson said, England’s prospects of beating the Springboks would have been much better. “We don’t need to get carried away with reaching the final,” he said. “We have asked of these players something we shouldn’t have had to ask.”

There are powerful voices within the English game who believe that Johnson, 37, for all his reticence on the subject, could be the solution. They believe that he possesses the management skills and the rugby knowledge to fill a role that does not exist at present, if the RFU decides to create a different formula for running the national side. It would be a start if the governing body can state definitively next week that it has reached an agreement with the Guinness Premiership clubs on player release that will hold for the next two World Cups at least.

Expert View

South Africa looked like a team who had prepared for four years, England like a team who had prepared for four weeks

Simon Barnes

• More

• Post a comment

BACKGROUND

• It’s widely known that I’m teetotal. I broke the habit on this occasion

• England take heart from brave new pretenders

• How England rated

• Miracle men suffer dose of reality

BACKGROUND

• England's future rosy, but is Ashton included?

• Toulon wait for Springboks master

• IRB aims to secure future not just for kicks

• South Africans urged to grasp chance for change

BACKGROUND

• Springboks dominate awards

• Boks on top in brutal battle

• Springbok kickers destroy England

• Ashton merits credit for glorious run

BACKGROUND

• It's over: dream dies as Boks win Rugby World cup

• Boks kill the unlikely dream

• Brave England go down with pride

• Video ref made 'brilliant decision’

BACKGROUND

• So who ate all the croissants?

• Au revoir France

• Victory whoops of the rainbow warriors

• Mrs Mills solves all your rugby problems

BACKGROUND

• English roses fall for Saint Jonny

• Stodgy England confine Bryan Habana

• Still joking about the All Blacks and Wallabies

• Wheels come off the chariot

Multimedia

• The World Cup Podcast

• Josh Lewsey's video diary

• The Rugby World Cup blog

“We need a coaching team and a back-up team that’s right to get us going forward,” Johnson said. “This is where Rob Andrew [the RFU director of elite rugby] has to assess the job.” In the same breath, Johnson declared that he has no plans to be involved. Since his retirement as a club player with Leicester in 2005, he has undertaken a great deal of media work alongside his popular rugby camps and a variety of ambassadorial roles linked to the World Cup.

“I’ve never managed a team, let alone at top level,” Johnson said, aware of the coaching merry-go-round that is about to overtake nearly half the countries involved in France. The RFU has carefully steered clear of comment on its own coaching panel of Brian Ashton, John Wells and Mike Ford, but rumours leaking out of the England camp suggest that there have been, to say the least, conflicting views between the trio.

At the same time, the role of head coach is as much that of a manager these days. That quality made Woodward a success with England and the same may be said of Rod Macqueen, who was Australia’s head coach when they won the World Cup in 1999. John Connolly, Australia’s coach in the latest World Cup, said that the post requires the identification of a panel of specialists able to work together with the head coach sifting the work done.

“I believe Martin is right for the job now,” Peter Wheeler, Leicester’s chief executive, said at the weekend, not without regret. Having seen at close range what Johnson achieved as a player at Welford Road, Wheeler had hoped to lure him back in a management capacity for three or four years before the national cause claimed him, but he has the highest regard for Johnson’s rugby intelligence and his ability to identify the core issues in the creation of a successful squad.

“Guys like Toby Flood, Dan Hipkiss, Mathew Tait, Paul Sackey have all had a taste now,” Johnson said, “and that stands us in good stead. Plenty of other guys weren’t available – Mike Tindall, Harry Ellis, David Strettle, Julian White, Danny Grewcock – so there’s the material for a squad of 20-plus players all capable of playing for England in these big games.

“You have to trust the players. They are the guys on the field who have to make the good decisions; don’t spoon-feed them. Good coaching is like teaching: you help people learn.”

Ashton would agree with all these sentiments and would clearly hope to extend his involvement after a year in which England’s stock has risen from seventh in the world to fourth, not to mention a World Cup standing superior to New Zealand and France.

South Africa, who will arrive back in Johannesburg this morning to a riotous welcome, have claimed first place in the IRB’s rankings ahead of New Zealand, who enjoyed 40 months at No 1. Argentina, who were third at the World Cup, are also third in the rankings, with France back in sixth place despite their epic quarter-final win over the All Blacks.